Cons of Carpet

07/19/2014

When I tell people that I'm removing the carpet from my living room and hallway and replacing it with ceramic tile most the reactions are surprised and many people where I live are off-put by this idea; I am off-put by carpet!

As anyone who religiously reads my blog knows... so one person, I have dogs. Right now I actually have 3: two of my own, and a foster.  Dogs are worse than kids about staining carpets, especially if they aren't potty trained or get a UTI which causes them to pee inside! My foster has a UTI and I'm not sure she was potty trained to begin with so the old carpet that was in great condition when we bought our house is now kinda yucky in the living room and hallway!
Con 1: Carpets stain easily
Con 2: Carpets absorb and harbor nastiness like dog pee and vomit
Con 3: Mites, Fleas, Ticks, and Lice all will live in carpet
Con 4: Carpet holds dirt and allergens in its fibers

Those four carpet cons were just the ones I thought of off the top of my head relating to my dogs, but lets continue shall we? How about carpet and our health?
Here is an excerpt from the American Lung Association:

How can carpeting impact health?

Carpets may trap pollutants like dust mites, pet dander, cockroach allergens , particle pollution, lead, mold spores, pesticides, dirt and dust. Toxic gases in the air can adhere to small particles that settle into carpets.1 These pollutants may become airborne when disturbed by renovations, vacuuming or even daily activities like walking across the carpet.  In the home, children are more likely to be exposed to pollution in carpets. They spend time playing on the floor and place their hands in their mouths.  If a large area is covered in carpet, it may be very difficult to remove indoor air pollutants and allergens.2

Chemicals used in some new carpets, carpet pads and the adhesives used to install them can harm your health. Some of these chemicals and glues are made with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which emit odors and pollutants.3 New carpet installation also has been associated with wheezing and coughing in babies in their first year of life.3

Con 5: Carpet is UNHEALTHY

Con 6: Carpet has a relatively short life span, 10 years TOPS often shorter due to stains. 

Hardwood and Tile can last MUCH longer! 

Overall I'm not a fan of carpet after reading how it was unhealthy. I'm not a health nut but after TTC for two years I want to bring our baby into a healthier atmosphere... so we are keeping carpet in bedrooms ONLY and keeping the dogs OUT! We also have a steam cleaner though I may have to invest in a HEPA vaccumm! 

College Fund or Tiny House?

07/18/2014

Which is a better investment in your babies future? Saving up for their college or building them a tiny house? According to MarketWatch the average amount parents save for their child's education is around $15,000... from collegedata.com

1. "According to the College Board, the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2013–2014 school year was $30,094 at private colleges, $8,893 for state residents at public colleges, and $22,203 for out-of-state residents attending public universities."

That means that most parents have saved up only enough for a semester at a private college or an associates degree at a public college. Their children will still have to find a way to pay for car expenses and housing unless they are attending a college nearby where they can live at their parents house.

Or instead of saving up for college, you could build them their own tiny house! The tiny house movement is newer but I'm in love with it! Rent across the country averages around $1,200/month, with some places much lower and others MUCH higher! While The average cost of a tiny house seems to be around $23,000 people are proving with some hardwork and thrifty shopping you can do it for much less.

I'm not a parent yet, but when I get there I think that the house might be a better option. It is nice to know your child will never have to worry about being homeless! 

Fun Tiny House Links:

http://homestead-honey.com/2014/03/24/cost-to-build-a-tiny-house/

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/mixmaster/2013/06/tiny_houses_workshop.php

http://tinyhouselistings.com/how-we-paid-cash-for-our-tiny-house/

http://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/teen-finishes-130-sq-ft-mortgage-free-home.html

Letting Go of Some Dreams, Moving On With Others

06/24/2014

Once upon a time there was a little girl who loved nothing more than animals and babies. This girl felt she fit in nowhere better than out among the horses, dogs, cats, or cattle. She spent her childhood and adolescent life being uprooted and moving from state to state and town to town, and spent most of her days daydreaming and planning for the future. In another life she might have different aspirations, but for this one all she wanted was to fall in love, get married, and buy a house... not just any house though, she wanted a ranch. 

In case you can't tell I was that little girl.

I grew up and played with many ideas of what I wanted to do with my life and "be when I grow up", in fact I'm still playing with ideas of a future career. There are some things that never changed: I wanted to get married,  buy a house, and start a family. 

There are also some things that did change!

My husband is many things, but he is not a country boy! Therefore my dreams of buying a hobby ranch in the country didn't match up with what he wanted. Our compromise was living outside of city limits but near the city and on a small lot, where I could have whatever would fit!

Since my husband has been a dear enough to let me get and try different animals I have learned something about myself: I'm not a country girl! I don't have what it takes to be a "cowgirl" or however you want to put it. Neither my husband or I can cause harm to any of our animals even if its for their own good like shots, we just don't have the stomach to hold them down while they panic. Therefore I'm putting the dream of that farm life behind me!

Since buying this house we have tried numberous different animals:

Thats Right! We have tried Ducks, Chicks, Quail, Rabbits, and even goats! 

Of the 5 animals we tried to incorporate into our lives there are only 2 that we will be keeping. We already got rid of the Quail, I blogged about that. The goats we had for about a week. When we bought them we didn't realize the mama was sick AND loosing an eye. They hadn't been cared for very well and for being first time goat owners and not having cared for a similar animal we decided to sell to someone who knew what they were doing. We loved her and the kids well we had them though! 

The rabbits have been fun! They are sweet and I understand why they are kept as pets, we however got them for food! They are easy to raise, breed like rabbits, cheap, and the produce low fat healthy meat. The only problem is we can't kill them which makes them not cheap but another pet with no return but love and how many do you need?

We are currently selling all of our rabbits but one and her kits which are too young to separate. We are selling extra cages and we never have even tried rabbit!

Trying out different animals has definitely cost me money. It also taught me about myself and my wants. This post is about trying to achieve your dreams because so many of us dream about things that we really don't know that much about.

When we try new things we learn about ourselves. I'm not super country. I'll keep my chickens and ducks, dogs, and maybe a pet rabbit, but I'm not the kind of girl who can raise my own meat. 

Losing Kits =/

06/15/2014

As anyone who raises animals knows, they don't all make it. I remembered the best aspects of growing up on a farm for a year, but I was shielded from the worst. Animals die, and not just because we decide its their time or we want to eat them.

Cinnamon (pictured above) gave birth to 8 or 9 healthy kits. They all made it to three weeks old and then started dropping. We switched their cage, still more died, we took the remaining three away in case she was killing them and I found a dead one today. We have 2 left and they all made it passed the initial "kill stage", I don't understand.

We woke up and went to care for the rabbits only to discover our favorite kits had passed away sometime during the night.

It is heartbreaking. Even though we are raising these as meat rabbits we had intended on selling or keeping a couple. I'm not trying to discourage anyone but this is where we are at right now... I'm feeling really discouraged and I'm debating selling out of all my rabbits, new kits, and cages.